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i C^IiHOUItf 




TEXT BOOK, 



I 
i 



"The great popular party is rallied almost ex jiasse around the banner 
that is leading the party to its final triumjih. The few that still 
flagwill -oon b;- rallied underits ample t'oids On 'hat banner is 
inscribed — 'Fuke Tkaiie; Low Duties; No Dkbt; 
Separatiox prom Basks; Economy; Retkench- 
ment; and strict adukuknce to the Con- 
STiTDTioif,' Victory in sucli a cause 
will be great and gloiius; and if its 
principles be faithfully& firmly 
adhered to, after it is a- 
chieved, much will re- 
dound to the ho- 
nor of those 
by whom it will have been won; anJ'lon^ ^tjII it perpeiuate; 
the liberty and prosperity of the couj/tj^* — Caishol;!)-/*. 






.■-life) 



m 



NEW-YORK: 

HERALD OFFICE, 

PHILADELPHIA: 

G. B. ZIEBER & Co., No. 3 LEDGER BUILDINGS. 

boston: redding 8c co. Charleston: babcock & co; 

SAMUEL HART SK. NEW ORLEANS: BRAVO AND MORGAN. 
mobile: J. M. SUMWALT AND CO. 






li<^.* 



^.> 3/ 




'a 




INTRODUCTION. 



The following pages comprise a condensed view of 
ihc past Character and Services of the Hon. Johx 
C. Calhoun. The frank, honorable and indepen- 
dent manner, that has ever manifested itself in all his 
public acts, as well as the spotless purity and integrity 
of his private life, have endeared him to a large cir- 
cle of admiring countrymen, which the lenient hand 
of Time can never rent asunder. 

In all the great questions -that have agitated the 
public mind during the past thirty-five years, Mr. 
Calhoun has taken a prominent and conspicuous part. 
" He has now retired from the theatre of public life, 
neither wearied nor worn, but because his work is 
done, so far at least, as Senatorial life can afford him 
any useful part to play. If there be any new field of 
action worthy of his powers, and as yet untrodden by 
him, it is in that highest executive sphere, for which 
the character of his mind and the experience of his 
life have so eminently fitted him. It is, perhaps, only 
upon this theatre that his countrymen would not now 
exclaim, ^'' Superfluous lags the veteran on the stage," 
and it is there that they will probably require him to 
consummate, as perhaps he alone can do, those great 
Republican reforms so cherished b}' the party, as des- 
finc'd in commcnil: il 1» the grateful rep;ards of pos- 

• ifntv.*^' • • 

.....Po.hUQ^l.oppf^nents jealous of his power, and ram- 
•plrni'.dc^Aiihii-fics rftVcous of his growing popularity, 
have attempted to casta gloom over his character and 
services^ but his reputation shall stand upon a sure 
foundation, a simple majestic structure that envy 
cannot undermine, nor the meretricious ornaments of 
party panegyric deform. 

Baltimore, Jfovemher 15//i, 1843. 

[Cntcred according to Act of Congrcbs] 



CALHOUN TEXT BOOK. 



MR. cALHoirnr. 

We publish below an article from the New York Journal of 
Commorce on Mr. Calhou.v, which shows that this able, but tem- 
perate press, comprehends the characteristics of this great state«- 
man. We were particularly struck with the remark — "Mr. Cal- 
houn has never taken any part in arranging elections ; he has 
never had wires to pull, or machinery to manage ; but has been a 
mere spectator, and has always treated his own prospects, when 
he was a candidate, with less interest than almost any other man 
has treated them." If Ave were to judge by certain presses, we 
would suppose that Mr. Calhoun was moving heaven and earth 
to affect the Presidency. But let a man pass through the retired 
little village of Abbeville, in South Carolina, and ask for Mr. Cal- 
houn : he will probably learn that he was in the village, at church, 
on the last Sabbath, and is now at his farm, three miles off- Let 
him go to visit him. If the day permits, he will find him in his 
fields, diligently attending to the details of his farm. A hearty 
welcome and a bright smile, will cheer the visitor ; and the great 
man will only be seen in the kind host and simple gentleman. If 
he enters the parlor, he may see piles of letters unanswered, and 
of newspapers unread ; but look at that bursting folio: there are 
his thoughts accumulating for his country. Not on station or 
honor intent, but shedding from his deep and brilliant mind the 
results of its long experience in the principles and policy of our 
Government. There will be his claim to immortality — a claim 
that official station can neither give nor take away. Milton, still 
lives in his might}^ thoughts, to bless and improve the world ; whilst 

Chap.les and Cromwell are onlv remembered for their question- 
1 



able deeds, and the dark tragedies they produced in life's poor 
drama. His days, he knows, are few ; and although the clouds of 
popular prejudice, raised by that haired which persecuted even 
the Saviour of the world, may obscure its setting rays, his glorious 
sun burns brighter and brighter in the empyrean, as it rushes to 
its decline ; and when it is sunk, men will then wonder, and 
learn, and love. 



MR. CALHOUN. 

The political position of this gentleman is, and always has been» 
peculiar. He has commanded the votes of tlie whole country at 
an election, and been chosen by unanimous acclamation Vice Pre- 
sident of the United States; yet he never had a party, in the com- 
mon acceptation of that term. There never has been between 
him and any set of politicians through the country, any arrangi^- 
ment for mutual support. If he weie elected President to-mor- 
row, there would not be a man in the whole country to W'hom he 
■would owe the least obligation, or who could claim anything of 
him. Mr. Calhoun has never taken any part in arranging elec- 
tions ; he has never had wires to pull, or machinery to manage, 
but has been a mere spectator, and has always treated his own 
prospects when he has been a candidate, with less interest tlian 
almost any other man has treated them. His iViends have never 
done much to organize themselve.*. They were in old times the 
whole country, and so needed no organization. The support given 
to Mr. Calhoun has always been, to an unusual extent, ttie impulse 
of personal esteem. At lionie it is so peculiarly. Tliere he min- 
gles not at all witli political partisans. From Congress he goes 
home nnd busies himself upon his farin, and in his family, and 
scarcely is seen at all in public until he returns to his official posi' 
tion. ife will not conform to the Southern custom of stump can- 
vassinjr lor votes, nor do anv thing wliich looks like seeking for 
office. He was educated at Yale College, and studied law at 
Litchfield ; yet he has never visited those places since his youthful 
education was completed, and chied}' because /lis position has been 
such, for a series of years, that he could not travel through the 
country without exposing himself to the charge of seeking for 
votes. During the whole course of his liie, we do not recollect 
that he has ever been chargeil with unfaithfulness to any of his 
engagements of any sort. His political opinions have always been 
frankly avowed, and when avowed, there lias never been any 
doubt as to what they were, or whether they would be adhered to. 
He has never ■wailed for public sentiment to be formed before he 
flared to disclose his own opinions; but whenever a subject has 



come before ihe body to which he belonged, has taken his ground 
respecting it. and unifonnly with so thoiough a comprehension of 
all its bearings, that his opiaii)ns Iiave wanted no modification af- 
terwards. In this way lie hiis been much the most consistent of 
all our leading public men. It is not atall disreputable to any man 
that he is sometimes in error, nor that when he perceives the truth, 
he avows the change wliicii his opinions have undergone. It is 
alledsed, we know, that I\Ir. Calhoun is inconsistent because head- 
vocated the stimulating of American manufactures into existence 
as a reason for increasing the taiiiF at one time, and now advo- 
cates free trade upon its bro.idcst and most uncompromising prin- 
ciples. Mv. Calhoun himself, in his late letter, seems to allow that 
his position is not now exactly what it was once, but it seems to 
us that he made the concession more as a mailer of magnanimity, 
than because it wa;f really demanded by the circumstances. At a 
.time when threatening war was ga'hcring around our infant coun- 
try, IMr. Calhoun did propose that duties should be advanced some 
two to live per cent, making them up to fifteen or seventeen per 
cent, in all, and he gave as one reason for doing so, that it would 
stimulate manufactures into existence ; but he never advocated any 
other tariff than one of adequate revenue. A man who drinks a 
glass of wine at the table of his friend, might as well be taunted 
with inconsistency because he protests against drunkenness in the 
streets. It is not for us certainly to call this inconsistent, for it is 
just what we have agreed to. There are modifying circumstances 
ahnost always attendant upon ihe practical application of great 
principles, and yielding to them in a practical spirit i^i not a pledge 
to carry out those modifying circumstances until they become as- 
cendant principles and destroy the fundamental rule. It is true 
that, as a fundamental principle, trade should be left free altogeth- 
er, and entirely free ; yet it would be anything but piactical wis- 
dom to determine that nothing should ever modify this principle in 
its practical operation. 

In his personal character, Mr. Calhoun is a model for statesmen. 
Amid all the bitterness with which he has been assailed, the purity 
of his life was never questioned. lie professes to make the pre- 
cepts of the Bible his rule of life, and no one ever questioned the 
sincerity of his profession. INIany men who stood reputably in 
our churches, have fallen under the temptations of public life, 
made shipwreck of the faith, become vicious in their personal hab- 
its, and unworthy of trust in their political associations. But Mr. 
Calhoun has never been charged with personal vice or political 
treachery. Although we do not think that personal piety should 
be a test for office, yet it is right that Christian men, who have 
been praying that we may have rulers " who fear God and hate 
covetousness," should know that IMr. Calhoun is such a man, and 



Ihat when he is nominated for office, they have an opportunity, 
unless liis opponent is a simihir cliaracter, to test the sincerity of 
their petitions. From our own observation, however, we conclude 
that most men will vote for their own party. 

That Mr. Calhomi is a statesman of the first class, we need not 
say: and that his plans of policy would secure the peace and 
quietude of our Union, we are sure every man believes who has 
attentively considered his course. The agitatioiis of the country 
have always been caused by strong measures, baring unequally 
upon the country, and of doubtful constitutionality. The South- 
ern policy of constructing the powers of the Federal Government 
strictly, and exercising only those whim are unquestionably con- 
veyed to Congress, could be as eminently promotive of the pros- 
perity as of the peace and happiness of the country. We need 
statesmen whose views are national ; who do not depend upon 
blowing the flames of civil war in Uhode Island to please the de- 
mocracy, or an expedition against Oregon to please the Western 
bordei-s, for a protective tariff to please New England, Pennsylva- 
nia, and Louisiana, at the expense of justice to all other parts of 
the country. A wild but expanded policy, securing liberty to 
every citizen, and imposing necessary burthojis equally upon all, 
is the government which this great country requires. With Mr. 
Calhoun at the head of affairs, we might expect an efficient, yet 
benignant, and peaceful administration at home, and a courteous, 
but dignified policy abroad. The corruj)ling influence of party 
arrangements would terminate : the spoils would cease to be divid- 
ed among hungry scramblers ; good men would no longer be pro- 
scribed and expelled from office to make room for party sycophants; 
the low grovelling passions of the vicious would no longer be ap- 
pealed to, but the patriotism which ought to fill every American 
bosom. 

For ten years past, I\Ir. Calhoun has been treated with great ne- 
glect and illiberality at the North. Both the Whig and Democra- 
tic newspapers have united to disparage and misrepresent him. — 
His splendid speeches have almost never been printed, but carica- 
ture sketches given in their place. 'I'he friends of other states- 
men, however, much opposed to each other, have united in traduc- 
ing a man whose popularity once overs-hadowed them, and who 
being the same man still, would hold the same rank again with his 
countrymen, if only his course of policy was correctly delineated 
before them. lie is, however, popular as Hir as correct views are 
entertained, and we have no doubt, \rould be again the most be- 
loved statesman of the nation, if his character were but understood 
through the country as it is in South Carolina. His great popula- 
rity there, in the language of Mr. Senator Preston, '• is the result 
of his personal worth. No man becomes acquainted with hiin 
who doe-s not love him to the bottom of his heart." 



From the New Haven Register. 

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

Tlie following communication meets anil refutes many of the 
objections urged by the opponents of Mr. CALH0Ui\ : 

Messrs. Editors. — However good a Democrat your correspon- 
dent, " A Plain Man," n\:\y profess to be, he seems by his acts to 
be, in league wHk ike Whirrs m at least one object, and that is, an 
attempt to blast the prospects of one of tlie distinguished inen 
whom a large portion of ihe Democratic part}-^ have brought for- 
ward as a candidate for the Presidential nomination at the Con- 
vention to be holden at Balliinore in May next. 

We look for and expect ungenerous and untbtmded attacks upon 
each and upon all of the Democratic candidates from our oppo- 
nents ; but when such attacks upon either of the Democratic can- 
didates come from aprofessed friend, it excites our wonder. Cer- 
tainly this course is not pursued by any knoicn advocate oi' ihc De- 
mocratic cause, when pressing the clainus ot his favorite to the 
favorable consideration of his politicarfiiends, be bis predilections 
what they may ; it becomes our unknov.'n and anonymous and 
masked writer to do it. Cov. Hubbard, of New Hampshire, whose 
feelings are decidedly favorable to J\!r. Van Buren, speaks of Mr. 
Calhoun as worthy of any office which Democratic votes can be- 
stow; and the editor of the Globe, who also prefers Mr. Van Bu- 
ren, in his paper of the 19tb inst. congratulates the Democracy of 
the country, when speaking of the proceedings of the Democratic 
State Convention of JNIassachusetts, " That nothinp; in the pro- 
ceedings tend, in the lemotest manner, to disparage other candi- 
dates, or prejudice their claims on the party." And if "A Plain 
Man" is what he pretends to be, he would better promote the 
cause whicii he professes to have at heart, to deal out his blows 
openly, in the broad light of day, in the face of his avowed po- 
litical enemies, than to give stabs secretly, in the dark, into the 
backs of his political friends. Certainly we shall have work 
enough at the next Presidential election with our enemies, without 
quarrelling with our friends. 

The statements which "A Plain Man" makes, mu.st be judged 
by the same rules tliat would be applied to any other anonymous 
writer; and it is a safe rule, that when any unknown writer iu any 
communication is proved to have made any ©ne statement,kno\vn 
to be untrue., that no reliance should be placed upon any thing 
which he may say ; so apply this rule to " A Plain Man:'' In 
speaking of his former support to Mr. Tan Buren, he says, " I did 
vote for Martin Van Buren in IS It). I did vote for Martin Van 
Buren in lS3(i. .lohn C. Calhoun did not.''' Wheo, Mr. Van 
Buren was a candidate in 1840, John C Calhoun gave to him as 
1* 



6 

hearty a support as any man in the country ; and it was through 
his exertions that the Democracy were enabled to show even a 
respectable minority in tlic Presidential canvass of tliat year — 
New York, the home of INlr. Van Buren, went for the Whigs, other 
States at the North, before then stronir in the Democratic faith, 
were found in ihe opposition, and yet Soulh Carolina, the home 
of Mr. Cillioun, remained iirm, and while the Northern Demo- 
cracy yielded to their enemies, gave her entire vote for Mr. Van 
Buren. This must have been known to "A Plain Man," and yet 
knowing this, he says "I (a plain man) did vote for l\{artin Van 
Buren in 1840. I did vote for Martin Van Buren in 1830. John 
C. Calhoun did nol.'''' After such a statement ns this, little reli- 
ance should be placed upon any thing that "A Plain Man" may 
say, whoever he may be. 

Mr. Calhoun does not hold himself up for the high office of the 
Presidency, lie is put forward by his political friends, who think 
that no event could happen that would be so conducive to the 
prosperity of the country as his election to the Presidential chair. 
When addressed by the Democratic State Central Committee of 
Indiana on the subject of his being a candidate, he answered them 
as a patriotic man should, situated as Mr. Calhoun was. As he 
does not put himself forward, but his name having been used by 
his Democratic friends, he is in the hands of those Democralic 
friends, and they have said that so far as they have a ^T)ice in the 
matter, the decision of a fairly constituted convention at Baltimore 
shall be binding. That part of Mr. Calhoun's letter to the liid ana 
Committee which relates to the subject is as follows: '-This 
question (that put b}' the Indiana Committee) seems to assume 
that I am a candidate soliciting the ollice of Pre.sident, and deter- 
mining by my individual judgment the proper measures to be 
adopted to secure it. It is not the light in which \ regard myself, 
or desire to be regarded by the public. My name has been pre- 
sented for that high oOice by no agenc}' or solicitation of mine, 
and it belongs to the friends who preler lue and have presented 
my name to the people, to decide upon the course proper to be 
adoj^tcd in reference to that question. I have, however, no reason 
to doubt, but that they will cheerfully abide by the decision of a 
eonvention fairly constituted, that would allow ample time ibr the 
full development of public opinion, and would represent fully, 
equally, and fairly, the voice of the majority of the parly." 

What modest, meritoiious mnn, could exiMcss himself betier 
than Mr. Calhoun has in the above extract from his letter to the 
Indiana Committee ? He .«;ays explicitly, 1 am not a candidate 
soliciting the otiice «>f President, I do not set myself up for that 
high otlicc ; my name has been mentioned bv a portion of the great 
Democratic party to which wc all belong, without any solicitation 



on my parf, and I entertain no doubt tliat tliose of onr friends wIVo 
have used my name for the Presidential nomination, will ciiecrfully 
abide by the decision of the convention ; and those friends have 
said they would so abide. What more could "A Plain Man'' ask? 
And yet with all this before him, lie appears to seelc, by garbled 
extracts, to pervert the meaning of JMr. Calhoun's lettei-, and do 
him as rank injustice as would be done by an open, undisguised 
Whig. 

Equally unjust towards Mr. Calhoun is tlie attempt of " A Plain 
Man," to have it appear and believed that ]\fr. C. attended a din- 
ner given to him by the Wiiigs in Charleston, in March, 1837, 
and on that occasion he .advocated in a speech the odious distribu- 
tion law. Rlr. Calhoun never was a \Vhig, and never attended a 
dinner given by Whigs, unless, in the opinion of "A Plain Man,'' 
the States' Rights Democrats of the South, the men who. b}' their 
exertions in tlie battle of 1840, saved the citadel of Democracy 
from perfect destruction, are Whigs. In 1837, when the public 
deposites amounted to about forty millions of dollars, all of which 
were placed in the State banks, how sa'ely, uiay be judged from 
the fact that a few months afterwards all the banks blew up, Mr. 
Calhoun, then being openly in favor of the Independent Treasury, 
of dissolving the Government from its connection with banks, 
(Mr. Van Buren was then in favor of the pet bank system,) rather 
than consent to this money remaining in rotten banks, was in fa- 
vor of having it deposited with the States. The money was in 
the Treasury, or rather, deposited in banks. The Sub-Treasury 
plan had been up before Congress, {~Mi: Calhoun being at that 
time in its favor,) and voted down. Mr. Calhoun was opposed to 
the money remaining in the banks, and as it could not be deposit- 
ed in an Independent Treasury, that bill having been defeated as 
a choice of evils, he was in favor of having it deposited with the 
States. And at the Charleston dinner, which " A Plain Man" 
speaks of, the question discussed was, whether the banks should 
have the money then on hand, or whether it should be deposited 
with the States. The question of raising money, either by duties 
on imports, or by the sale of public lands, for the puiposes of dis- 
tribution among the States, Mr. Calhoun has always been opposed 
to. In a speech delivered in the Senate, on the '^Sth of February, 
1837, in speaking of the distribution scheme, he says he " was 
the first to denounce such a system, and his opinion on this point 
had undergone no change w'hatever;" and in his speech on ihe 
bill to distribute the proceeds of the public lands, delivered in the 
Senate, Jaliuary 22, 1841, b-; says: "It has, sir, been my fortune 
to be opp >scd to the scheme from the beginning. It originated 
with a former member of this body, Mr. Dickinson, of New Jer- 
sey, and recently Secretary of the Navy, as far back as the year 



8 

1527. His professed object was to stiPiigtlien the protective tarifT 
interest, by disuibuling a part of its ))roceods annually among tho 
Slates, in the manner pioposed by the amendment. I took my 
stand against it promptly and decidedly, in its first agitation, as a 
measure dangerous and unconstitutional.'"' 

And no one but "A Plain Man" ever denied this. His early 
opposition to the scheme of distribution was the first cause of the 
temporary alienation between liim and General Jackson and Mr. 
Van Buren. The President at the first session of the 2Gth Con- 
' cress, when Mr. Van Buren was Secretary of State, and also at 
the second session, had recommended distribution ; Mv. Calhoun, 
in his speech last referred to, says: *' 1 saw the danger in its full 
extent, and did not hesitate to take an oj)en and decided stand 
a2:."iinst the measure which he (the President) so earnestly recom- 
iiVended : and that was the first question on which we separated." 
lie, in IS'JO and 1631, separated from Geneial Jackson and Mr. 
^'an Buren for a time. They were then in favor of distribution 
and he against it; as in his opinion it was " a measure dangerous 
and vniconstitutional." And now, that Democratic sentiment has 
been made right on this subject, and the "•sober second thought" 
prevails, both Gen. Jackson and Mr. Van Buren admit, that they 
in recommending distribution at that time, were urong, and that 
JMr. Calhoun in opposing it «as rigid. And if Democrats are true 
to their principles, and regard llie great doctrines which have now 
become the cardinal tenets of the Democratic creed, they must 
feci that they owe a debt of gratitude to John C. Calhoun for the 
.stand he took and the efforts he displayed in restoring and estab- 
lishing them, which can never be repaid but by his election at 
some future period to the high office of President of the United 
States. JEFFEUSON. 

From llic Frtdcricksbiirg (Va.) Recorder.. 

PROTECTION. 
We wish the Democratic press would continue to hammer aw-ay 
upon the present ini(]uitous Tariff. It must be repealed, or our 
boasted equality is nothing but a gross and palpable humbug. Onr 
neighbor does not choose to see "any good grounds of attack 
ui)on the TarifiV" iu the recent " slriLes" of workmen, journey- 
iTien tailors, and others, in Boston. We see many " grounds for 
attack." No part of the present system is more onerous than that 
in relation to woollens and lady-made clothing. Hence we might 
supjKjse tliose engaged in the man\dacture of clothes, would grow 
rich in a hurrv. And so they wdl ; wc mean the large dealers. 
A monopoly is granted them, and they forthwith in Boston, avail 
tliMu (dves of its immunities, form a " consi)irncy" to regulate the 
piicu of clothing, and the rate of wages, which, as appeared by 



the testimony, were so low that a man could only earn from three 
to five ilolliirs a week, by working day and nighl. And is it for 
this " $3 to $o a week" that the laboring classes of New En<i;land 
sell themselves to the protective party! And they will find, as 
they have found, that each step of this fictiiious system is upon 
their necks; that each acquisition of power, is a power to bind 
them; and that the rivalry very soon will be between "llic pau- 
per labor of Europe" and jjauper labor of Aincncn. 



From l!ie Cliarlcston Mercury. 

SPEECH OF TPIE [JON. WM. SMITH, OF VA. 

At a public meeting recently given lo the Hon. Wm. Smith, 
late member of Congress, by his cotistituenfs, that gentleman de- 
livered a speech abounding in sensible and liberal views of politi- 
cal subjects, from wliich wc extract so much as relates to the pend- 
ing Presidential controversy in the Democratic party, and request 
for if the attention that its good sense and liberal spirit deserve. 

Fellow Citizens — T now approach a subject w'lih. mucli reluc- 
tance, of general interest, anfl destined I fear, to b come soon, an 
absorbing one ; upon which 1 dislike to speak, and yet cannot be 
altogether silent. I allude to the question of who is to be the De- 
mocratic candidate for the Presidency at the approaching election, 
and how and when he is to be selected. Many of my late consti- 
tuents have honored me with inquiries on this subject ; and I shalE 
therefore, briefly present some of the views which earlv occurred 
to my mind, with that diffidence of my own, and respect for the 
opinions of others, which its interesting character is so well calcu- 
lated to inspire. 

With those of my fellow citizens wlioknow my private circum- 
stances, and have observed my public conduct, it will readily be 
granted, that no man has more freely and zealousy sustained the 
Republican parly than myself. ''Everything for measures and 
nothing for men," has been my motto. In this spirit, early in the 
past winter, before these subjects had been agitated to any consid- 
erable extent, certainly before any serious feeling had been arous- 
ed, I addressed several valued friends on the subject of our candi- 
date, and the time and manner of his selection. 1 knew that a 
real heartfelt spirit of conciliation, was indispensable in the pres- 
ervation of harmony; and that wliatevor was done thereto, should 
be done with promptness and cordiality. I saw among our public 
men, many aspirants for the Presidency — Some with growling' 
fortunes. They, I knew, would bo for the latest period of holding 
the Convention, because each would flatter himself^ that lime alone 
was wanting lo establish his strength and secure his nomination. 



10 

To refuse the fullest lime at all allovvable to the action of public 
opinion, wouiil be (Jcnouiiccd with iiuich cirect as wrong in princi- 
ple — otFensive to the just and reasonable claims of friends; and in- 
dicative of a growing change in the ])ublic mind, averse to those 
inaking the objection, while it could not fail to excite a degree of 
irritation altogether incompatible with that harmony, without which 
our strength is but weakness. I knew, moreover, that the mino- 
rity interests in our party would combine upon this subject, and 
prove too strong to be controlled. And I laid down as |)rincip!es, 
that whatever any considerable portion of our party required, if 
not unfair, should bo yielded without a word, merely because re- 
quired ; and that what it was obvious must ultimately be conced- 
ed, ought to be conceded with alacrity, to win the good will which 
always attends manly and liberal conduct. And I, therefore, early 
avowed myself in favor ol' the latest period named. Other coun- 
cils, however, prevailed in Virginia, and an early day was desig- 
nated by our Convention. But, as I was satisfied would come to 
]5as3, we have been compelled to retrace our steps, and agree to 
the latest day, not only without thanks for our liberality, but with 
imputations upqn our fair dealing ; and what is moie to be deplor- 
ed, with many of our fiiends chafed and irritated at our conduct. 

The day of holding the Convention having been agreed upon, 
ihe manner of or^aniziiig that body, next pressed itself upon our 
consideration. Upon this subject, f also early formed my opinion, 
Avhich has remained unchanged, and which I will cheerfully give 
you. 

This subject, you are aware, has been much discussed, I confess 
1 have been no little surprised at some of the views which have 
been expressed. What is the object of the intended Convention ? 
Is it not to ascertain the man who is the choice of a majority of 
the Republican party, that we may all unite upon him as our can- 
didate for the Presidency? We have now in the United States 
two millions of Republican voters. Who is the choice of a majo- 
rity of them, is alone the que.>tion. And to solve this question, 
and this alone, it seems to me is the great duty of the proposed 
Convention. But for the di/Terence in the elective test, in the 
several States of our Union, and the existing institution of slavery 
among us, we should select our candidate by a direct vote of the 
peoj)le at the polls. But, as this is impossible, the nearest appjoach 
to it is, in my opinion, the next best, most popular and most truly 
Republican mode; and that is, the election of a delegate from each 
Congressional district, to vote in Convention as members of Con- 
gress do, each, according to his preference and opinion. A Con- 
vention thus formed, will prove suihciently numerous for all prac- 
tical purposes, will, as nearly as may be, and I doul)t, not truly, 
represent the Republican parly, and will, in my judgment, alone 



given satisfaction. Our Convention of last winter, recommended 
the election of four delegates from each Congressionnl district, the 
body thus elected, to cast the vole cf the State as may be thought 
best. This auangenieiit, I can but think i* deficient in principle, 
altogether wrong, and calculated to surrender ilie vote of Virginia 
to irresponsible management. Those who look to the Constitution 
as furnishing analogies for embodying the Convcniion, admit, (and 
it is unquestionably true,) that under the Constitution, a minority 
of the people may elect the President. But will any one be so 
hard}-- as to insist that a minority of the Republican party, ought to 
select our candidate? or, that it is not our burden duty, as far as 
possible, to present such a result? With what jjroprifty, then, can 
such refer to the Constitution for authority or precedent? I also 
object to the addition of two delegates from each State, in addition 
to those elected from districts, from analogy to the Senators, to 
which each Slate is entitled by the Constitution. This will give 
to the small States on undue preponderance in the selection, which 
should rest upon the popular principle alone. Nor can I sec the 
wisdom of referring to the analogies or authority of the Constitu- 
tion, in any respect. That instrument, original, unique, profound 
in conception, and yet the child of compromise, exhibits its wis- 
dom, its u'ility, and its power, by its numerous restraints upon nu- 
merical majorities. The House of Representatives may pass a 
bill, and the Senate may reject it. Both may pass it, and yet it 
may die beneath the Executive veto. Again: a large majority of 
the American people, may desire a change in the Constituiion ; and 
yet that change cannot be had without the concurrence of 19 of 
the 2G States of our Union. Rut by a Convention, our purpose is 
to arcertain the wish of a popular majority, to give it full and true 
expression, and in no degree to throw restraints about it. I there- 
fore, cannot, for the life of me, see the propriety of any reference 
to the Constitution. I must insist, it furnishes neither principle nor 
analogy to guide us in the oaganizalion of the proposed Conven 
tion. 

I have thus, my friends, expressed myself candidly yet earnest- 
Iv, upon these subjects ; and with the more earnestness, because I 
really fear, without both are conceded, the most fatal consequences 
will ensue. And I have done it witii the greatest freedom ; for, 
whatever course may be determined on, my conduct, in the ap- 
proaching struggle, will be precisely the same. Would to God, the 
Republican party would, with one voice, proclaim the district sys- 
tem, with liie per capita vote, and thus hush the clamors of discon- 
tent, and crush the hopes of Federalism. Who, who, willing to 
be controlled by a majority, could complain of, or suffer by it? 

Having thus, fe-Uow-citizens, presented you my views upon the 
two engrossing topics of the day, I will venture my opinion, as to 



12 

ihe man who will likely receive our nomination. I entertain not 
tlio FJiadow of a doiibt, that Mr. Van Buren is this day stronger 
with the Rejniblican party, than any one of all our candidates. — 
But is he stronger than all combined ? It is a well known proper- 
ty of our nature, eagerly to believe whatever is pleasing or desira- 
ble to us. And hence it may be expected, that the friends of all 
our aspirants, will readily conclude, as Mr. Van Buren has once 
had the honor of the Presidency, and received the vigorous sup- 
port of the Democratic party for a second term, that all the require- 
ments of party obligation have been fully answered, and that he 
should no longer be in the way of those, whose aspirations advanc- 
ino- a<'e will not permit much longer to be delayed. Hence, in 
Convention, Mr. Van Buren will have to encounter, in all proba- 
bility, the united opposition of all his competitors. Can he suc- 
cessfully do it? I <loubl it. And thus, in my opinion, the chances 
are in favor of IMr. Calhoun, on whom,, or Mr. Van Buren, the 
nomination will, I doubt not, be conferred. In this aspect, it is of 
the fust importance to those gentlemen, that the most friendly re- 
lations should be preserved between them and their respective 
friends. Temperance, conciliation and forbearance, should be se- 
dulously cultivated. But, above all, it should never be forgotten, 
that reciprocal attacks can add no strength to eitht-r. 

In exi)ressing this opinion, as to the chances of the nomination, 
let no one suppose it to be the consequence of ;iny preference of 
men — that preference, if any, lies in my own bosom, and has nev- 
er been avowed. And deeply do I regret, that our leading jour- 
nals, and prominent public mi n, had not adopted a similar policy, 
and left to the masses, freed from all active agencies, the selection 
of a candidate, through delegates appointed, without special com- 
mitment, and only instructed so to act as to give the most general 
satisfaction, and to promote the Republican policy of the country. 
]\Iy puiposc was, and still is, to take no part in the struggle be- 
tween friends. It would be to me a part most painful and ungra- 
cious, repugnant to my wlu)le nature, and will never be taken by 
me, except in some unexpected extremity. No, men of ^Madison, 
with the strife which is brewing, I will have no agency. Of the 
calamitous consequences that may lesult from it, I wash my hands. 
I have ever reo'arded men as that dust in the balance, when weigh- 
ed afrainst Ihe disasters of Bcpulilican defeat. For the eminent 
abilities, and Roman firmness oi' Mariin Van Buren, I enteriain the 
highest regard. My appreciation of him is to be found in the la- 
bors and tiie sacrifices of the past — and if the future shall be to 
me, 1 w ill not be found wanting. OI the great South Carolinian, 
1 have Init little to .""ay. His mighty intellect — that to the stianger 
may appear stern, grand, and peculiar — is softened and relieved 
by a k ml and gentle spirit, which mingles in most happy combina- 



13 

lion in the bosoms of his friends, admiration for his mind, and af- 
fection for his person. " But I will not praise him." Would I 
seek the promotion of either to the Presidency, at the risque even 
of our defeat? Surely not, " Every thing for measures, and noth- 
ing for men, has ever been the governing principle of my political 
conduct, and vvill, I trust, continue to control me, until time to mc 
shall be no more. And if, indeed, we shall be weak enough to 
quarrel and divide, and so fall a prey to our adversaries, I shall 
enjoy the consolation, poor though it be, of knowing that I am not 
responsible for the ruin of our hopes, and the calamities of our 
overthrow ; but that I did all in my feeble power, by precept and 
example, to pass this cup from our lips. 



From the Washington Spectator. 

MR. CALHOUN. 

The following brief, but truthful and discriminating, notice of 

Mr. Calhoun's character and talents, is taken from an article in the 

October number of Hunt's Merchants' Magazine, on the "History 

of the Chartering of the United States Bank, by Francis Wharton, 

of Philadelphia.'' The writer, with prophetic vision, anticipates 

the verdict that will be passed upon Mr. Calhoun and his labors, 

when the men and the parties of the present day, and the feelings 

and prejudices to which they have given rise, shall have passed 

away : 

"On Mr. Calhoun, as the Chairman of the Bank Committee, 
did the duty devolve of presenting the charter to the House, and 
supporting it, after it was presented. Mr. Calhoun, though not 
much beyond thirty years of age, had been present, and had taken 
an active part in the House during the two preceding sessions, and 
from his great ability, his boldness, his freedom from those points 
of offence which so often detract from the power of a preliminary 
leader, he had been hit upon by the administration as its organ, not 
only upon the Bank question, but upon most of the remaining 
points to which the attention of Congress was directed. We can- 
not but regret that so imperfect a record should remain of speeches 
wttered at a period so critical by a man, whose efforts, under any 
circumstances, deserve study as much as they provoke admiration. 
Mr. Calhoun has now withdrawn from Congressional life ; and as 
the curtain has dropped finally the scene of his great efforts, wa 
feci that it is not unsuitable for us to rest for a moment to contem- 
plate a career which is one of the most remarkable in history. — 
Not endowed with those distinctive characteristics which made one 

of great rivals the most eloquent declaimer of the day, and tho 
o 



14 

other ils most powerful debater, we question whether In the sphertf 
which he had laid open to himself — the sphere of political <nrgu- 
mentation, he has ever been equalled. Fastening his mind firmly 
on the point he is to make, and approaching it with an energy 
which never faints, and with an ability which never wavers, the 
strict line of demonstration is pursued with a vigor almost painful 
in its intensity, and which insures in the mind of the student, sub- 
mission to the correctness of the reasoning, if not conviction of the 
truth of the conclusion. It would have been bettf^r, if immediate 
effect was sought for, to have given the traveller resting places, 
where he could have slopped occasionally to divert hia attention 
IVom the strict line of deduction, and to enable him to cheer the 
orator onwards during the period of mutual relaxation. If Mr. 
Calhoun's speeches had been framed for the single purpose of par- 
liamentary triumph, we doubt not that the usual little episodes of 
retort, or of story telling, by which the attention of his hearers, re- 
freshed by the parenthesis thus created, might have been more 
completely won, coiild have been successfully introduced. But it 
must be remembered that the neglect of imagery, the freedom from 
personal controversy, the absence of appeals to the personal taste, 
or the political prejudices of his hearers, the utter disuse of the en- 
gines of ridicule or sarcasm — ^^itmust be rememl)ered, we say, that 
the freedom from unnecessary digression, and the earnest rigor 
with which the argument is pursued, tends to heighten, in the 
mind of the student, the convictions which the power of the reas- 
oning produces. We arc sensible that we have been worked upon 
by no inferior appeals to our personal tastes of party associations, 
and that neither our sense of the ridiculous, nor our sense of the 
sublime, has been tampered with, in order that our reason should 
be betrayed. It must have been impossible to have listened to Mr. 
Webster's wonderful speeches during the debate on Mr. Foot's re- 
solution — it certainly is impossible to study them as reported — 
without lising with a deep sense of admiration for the splendid 
qualities which have there been introduced into action. We are 
carried away by impetuous eloquence there displayed — the Mo- 
hawk onslaught as Mr. Randol[)li called it — and we feel that same 
enthusiasin which we feel when we witness the Italian campaigns 
of Napoleon. We are made partisans at once by the fearlessness 
of the attack : and as we witness the guns of the enemy turned 
against himself — as we observe the most fearful odds overcome, and 
see the weakest points in the whole field chosen, almost because 
they are the weakest, and then made impregnable, we enter into 
the conflict instinctively, without knowing any thing more than 
that we are enrolled under the standard of the eagle, nnd we take 
liarl in the triumj)hal procession without feeling clear whether we 
arc celebrating anything more than the i)crsonal triuiriph of the 



15 

chief. There are many who cannot read Mr. Webster's replies to 
Mr. Hayne without being thrillod with enthusiasm, and yet who, 
were they asked what conclusions liad been left on their mind, 
would answer like the grandfather in Southey's poem on the bat- 
tle of Blenheim, — 

" Why that I cannot tcli," said he : 
Uut 'twas a famous victory. 

If the fooling of ])ersonal sympathy are called less frequently 
into play by IMr. Calhoun, it cannot be denied that the deficiency 
thus created is amply compensated by the interest which the argu- 
ment itself arouses. There is passion it is true, but it is so well 
trained and kept under, that we observe it like the steam in a well 
regulated engine, rather in the methodical and rapid action of the 
jnachinery it influences, than in the wreaths and puffs of vapor 
which occasionally escape. There are no intervals for us to slop 
and cheer; there are no resting places by which we can get out 
for refreshment; but we are carried onward in a line mathemati- 
cally straight to the place of destination. It is in this very freedom 
from digressions of all kinds that Mr. Calhoun's title to the admi- 
ration of posterity will in a great degree rest; and we have no 
doubt that in future periods, when local illusions and personal re- 
tort have lost their effect, when tlie reader seeks to trace out not 
so much the private skirmishes of statesmen themselves, as the gen- 
eral character of the measures about which they struggled — the 
chaste and beautiful argumentation which distinguished him, will 
place him on a level with the few great minds who have been able 
to instruct the reason, without stooping to please the fancy. 



MR. VAN BUREN AND HIS FRIENDS. 

It is exceedingly painful to us, to be obliged to admit that there 
appears to exist, in some sections of the Union, among the friends 
of Mr. Van Buren, so great a jealousy of the growing popularity 
of Mr. Calhoun, as to cause them to forget that " measures not 
)Tien " is the cardinal rule of our party. Now, though we have 
hoisted the Calhoun banner, and are willing and prepared to do 
hone-t battle in his behalf — yet we repudiate the idea, that we are 
moved thereto by any other than an honest and sincere desire to 
promote the interests of the country. In our first number we gave 
our reasons for preferring Mr. Calhoun to any and all of the pro- 
minent inen of our party, as the candidate for the next Presidency. 
And while we believe that upon the score of past " past services,'' 
disinterested patriotism, and thorough acquaintance with politics 
and poUiical economy, he may safely compare notes with any one 
of the dislingicisked many — still we are not prepared to admit that 
he is the " sine qua non " with us. An honest, faithful, and pa- 



16 

tiiotlc discharge of the trusts reposed in piibh'c men, should, and 
will always, be remombered and acknowledged ; but we deny that, 
in fact, even these can or do create a coMtrollin;r lien in favor of 
the servant upon the people. VVe have been induced to these re- 
marks by the course adopted by the friends of JNIr. Vao Buren. — 
They seem to think that he has c/ams upn« the Democratic party, 
■which cannot be discharged, short of his election to the Presiden- 
tial chair. Claims upon the parly ! Now, in the name of all tbat 
je jast, we ask who is so largely indebted to that same party as 
Mr. Van Buren? Has not "•his utmost ambition " been satisfied 
and gratified by it — has he not, in every trying time of his politi- 
cal career, been sustained by the concentrated power of the party? 
When reflections were made upon his character as a man. and his 
capacity as a statesman, 'by his recall as minister fiom the Court of 
St. James, did not the party itself become the defender of his 
wrongs, and by his elevation to the Vice Presidency, so effectually 
redress his injurier, as to force from himself the exclamation •'?/ 
is glory enough ? Who, we ask, rallied around him in the contest 
of 1836.'' who sustained his administratiaa? who nominated him 
for re-election in 181", and who, in that dark hour for the country, 
stood manfully up to him, and for him, and fell with him ? — need 
we answer — the Democratic party. And yet his peculiar friends 
say he has claims upon the party and seem determined to connect 
the success of the party and the interests of the oountrv insepara- 
bly with the fate of liie man Van Buren. Now, according to this 
kind of logic, and the views of the Van Burenites, we suppose 
the Democrats are so deeply indebted to, and so entirely depen- 
dent upon, Martin, that we must continue to run him, until he shall 
be elected Chief Magistrate, or the party annihilated. Well, if 
this be the alternative, we seriou-ly fear that the country has al- 
ready witnessed the last Democratic Presidential triumph which 
history will ever record. 

These remarks and this conclusion, so painful to us, are not sug- 
gested by any unkind feelings towards Mr. Van Buren or his zeal- 
ous friends. We have battled for him, W'iih all our energies and 
ability in days gone by. We yet believe him to be a sterling De- 
inocrat, patriot and statesman, and shonld he be the candidate of 
the party, will again give him hearty support. But we deny that 
Mr. Van Buren has claims upon the party. In a Republic like 
ours, great men may be called, as was Cincinnatus by the Romans, 
to fill, but have no claims to, nor right to demand olhce. 

[^Chambers {Ala.) Herald. 



17 

MR. CALHOUN. 

We cxhact the following iiriicle from the April No. (IS 13) of 
the Southern Qnavlcily Review. It forms the concluding portion 
of a very elaborate and excellent review of the life of that distin- 
guished statesman supposed to be from the pen of the Hon. R. M. 
T. Hunter, of Va., and recently published by the Messrs. Harper 
and Brothers, of New York. 

"Mr. Calhoun is about lo run a great race in which kings, or 
Avhat arc boUor than kings — in which great men are to be iiis an- 
tagonists. It was right, therefore, that we should have had such a 
sketch of his life and actions as now lies, before us. Mr. Clay's 
Life, Col. Johnson's, and, we believo, biogiaphies of the other 
leadini: candidates for the Presidency, liave been recently publish- 
ed. VVluM) Mr. Van Buren was canvassing for that high office be- 
fore, his Life had preceded him, and been sown broad-cast through 
lh» land. H:id the fiiends of Mr. Calhoun neglected to pursue a 
similar course with respect lo their candidate, might not the peo- 
ple well have wondered at tiicir silence? But, independently of 
all parly considerations, the lite and actions of this great statesman 
belong io his country. The United Stales, in whose cause and 
for whose advancement he has labored so long and so nobly, and 
which are jjroud of his talents, his virtues and his fame, are inte- 
rested — deeply interested in seeing that justice is done to his 
merits. He is no common man. Few such individuals arc pro- 
duced in an age or in the course of ages. Endowed witli the 
liighest reach of intellect, profoundly versed in political affairs as 
they extend back nearly to the origin of our government, his life 
may be said to be identihed with the history of free institutions 
in America, and by the light and beauty beaming from it, to have 
shed lustre, grace and glory upon the American character. A 
finished scholar, who, in early life, devoted himself to learning, 
as to a mistress, and attained to the highest literary honors in one 
of the lirst colleges in the Union — a piulosopher, in the best sense 
of the word, — not one who skims the surface of things, but who 
has searched into causes, has ascended to principles and \ iewed 
them in their multiplied relations and varied bearings upon life, 
customs and institutions; — an accomplished agriculturist, skilled 
in that fiist of all sciences, the successful culture of the soil, the 
great source of a nation's wealth and inlluence both at home and 
abroad ; — a proficient in the theory, if tujl ihe practice, of various 
mechanical arts ; — intimately acquainted, from tiie llice he once 
filled, with thegrcat science of war ; — a steady and devoted friend 
to the commercial and the manufacturing interests of the coun- 
try ; — an orator of most commanding eloquence, — a complete mas- 



18 

ter of the English tongue, powerful in producing conviction, not 
by moving the passions, but by the force of reason and of facts; — 
a courteous gentkiian, free in his intercourse with all classes, and 
ready and able, from tlie stores of a richly furnished mind, to im- 
port light on almost all subjects interesting to hjs race; — a man of 
inflexible integrity and unblemished ])urity of character, com- 
manilin«- universal conhdence by his acknowledged and unshrink- 
ino- honesty of purpose on all occasions; — such an individual, not- 
W'flh^ianding the jealousy of partiz:ins and the eiwy of rivals, i^ 
an honor to human nature itself which he has raised and enno- 
bled. He represents the intellectual power and superior attri- 
butes of a free people. American literature points with pride to 
the laurels he has acquired as a scholar, an orator, and a statesman, 
■which place him on the vantage ground, when compared with the 
intellectual and illustrious men of former times and of other coun- 
tries. Upon such an individual, office, although it be the highest 
within a people's gift, coolers no additional honor, but is itself il- 
lustrated and adorned by such anorgaaof popular will. If he do 
not attain the highest distinction, it will not be because the North, 
the South, the East and the West are indilleient to his meiits. — 
It will not be,*becausft the American people lack discernment, or 
because they are ungrateful to a public benefactor, v, hose rongand 
brilliant life has been spent in their service, and devoted to the 
cause of his country — the cause of liberty and of human happi- 
ness. It will only be, because he is not the only great ?nan whom 
America has produc< d, who is fitted, by his virtues, his talents and 
his patriotisin, to occupy the highest station of tru:^t in the land, — 
because he is not the only man who is able to maintain the honor- 
of our free institutions, and to carry his country forward in the 
path of fame and glory upon which she has eniered. 

From ilic CharUitoii Mercury. 

THE SUB-TREASURY. 

We have already taken occasion to bring to notice the claim 
which had been made at the New York meeting, for credit to Mr. 
Van Buren of the authorship of the Sub Treasuir system. We 
propose now. to prove by coiittMuporaneous "sayin^^s aiul doings,'' 
thai all that was then stated is true, and that as all the blame in 
lime ])asl has been laid at the door of Mr. Calhoun, for the origin 
of this system, it is but common juiiticc to give him tiie benefit ot 
the good opinion of all who are now favorable to its author. In 
the year is.jl, it will be remembered, the division of opinion in 
the country was most remarkable. Parties had not then assumed 
the positions they now occupy. An active opposition was oro;an- 
i/.ed agauist the Administration. The stern will of Gen. Jackson 
had levelled the Bank of the United States. Mr. Rives, in the 



19 

Senate of the United States, was the able and ingenious advocate 
of the State Banks — and Mr. Webster stood forth the chief and 
head of those who looked to tlu; re-ostablishment of lh(- B,\iik of 
the United Stales as the panacea for the ills with wliich the coun- 
try was afllicied. The removal of the pnblic deposiles, was itself 
an act, well calculated to paralyze the public miud, and cvcmi liiey 
who were the loaticrs and counsellors, seemed hesitating and afraid 
what course to advise — what policy to adopt in this uncx[)ecled 
conjuncture. 

In a speech delivered by Mr. Calhoun at that session — we mean 
the sessi'Ui of l8ol — a speech characterized by the most piofound 
and searching reflections on the monetary concerns of the country, 
his opinions on these vexed but most impnrtant questions are given 
with the utmost clearness. The p.'jposition that was so warmly 
advocated by Mr. Rives and his party, and which had for its ob- 
ject, the fostering of State Banks in place of the United States 
Bank, was discussed in tlie ablest manner. The injury that would 
result to the Government — to the St*le-- — to individuals — the in- 
security that must attach to tliese institutions as depositories of the 
public Vunds, the wrong that would be inevitaljly done to them in 
the selection — the baneful iiidufuces that woidd be brought to 
operate on the country at large, the impossibility of having a fixed 
value in their exchanges — or if fixed, the untruth and injustice 
that would result from the arbitrary e<tablishment of such a value, 
were all exliibited in a light so strong, as to penetrate tiie veil 
which had been hung before the scheme and alliighted those who 
had been loudest in its support. 

In regard to the question of the United States Bank, the same 
clear and positive views are expressed. It was hoie that the true 
issue was to be presented. All other propositions were but se- 
condary — mere palliatives — excuses for not doing something more. 
In all times of great public danger, the weak (ear the strong mea- 
suie, with which alone permanent good can be efleclcd. Mea- 
sures for the moment are to such the most agreeable, because in 
these is less of danger and responsibility. But as to tiie sick man, 
violent medicines are in most cases alone useful, so in Stite policy 
it often happens that the greatest injury results from the want of 
decision. 

This was then the state of the public mind. Not only out of 
Cono'ress, but in that body itself. Not oidy was the riglit treat- 
ment to be prescribed, but in addition to the intrinsic difficulty of 
the question, the feelings of rival parties were adding additional 
darkness,^to a prospect already hung with a cloud as portentous as 
that whicii precedes the storm. Not only was the sick to be heal- 
ed, but he was first to be rescued from a host of doctors, who 
would rather gather around his dead body^ than admit liis restora- 



20 

lion to be the work of other liands than their own. Whether a 
Bank of the United Slates wis the proper remedy, was a matter of 
great doubt. Whether it was a remedy permitted under the con- 
stitution, wasa qii'slioM made but Utile more certain from iis num- 
berless discussions. J^ut yet the objections to it were many and 
important. And not the least of these was, tiial its recoi^nition at 
that crisis would be not only the evidence of its usel'ulness, but 
the confession of its indispensable nere>sity, and the acknowledg- 
ment of its final triumph over the wishes and will of the Execu- 
tive. 

Here then, there could be no safety. To be secure, we must 
travel further. And in elevating himself above the differences of" 
those who were around hiin — in refusing to be a party in the dis- 
])ute between matters of -unwoilhy dillerence — in lilting himself 
above llie noise and confusion of the struggle for power and plun- 
der, then convulsing all ; is to be attribut.^d ti)e conclusion that he 
then so forcibly'aiinounced, that tlicre. must be a divorce between 
Bank and State. It was no* the suggestion of idleness — it was 
not a conceit, iliat first then occupied his mind. It was the calm 
and deliberate result of the most anxious dclibeiation over the 
downward fortune.<j of his counlry. N(^r was it an ephemeral dis- 
play of an ingenious and plausible theory that da/.zlcd, though it 
deluded, and after a sliort period would die away and be hurled in 
the tide of t-ime. Far otherwise, it was a proposition deliber- 
ately matured, and after having passed the ordeal of the severest 
scrutiny, after having been trampled in the dust, in the mad irrup- 
tion of jKission in the election olGen. Harrison, again it has risen 
from the earth — stronger from the load with which it was oppress- 
ed — adopted by general acclamation as a great measure of deliver- 
ance and liberty, and conferring immortal honor on him who lirst 
gave it being. 

In his speech delivered in the Senate of Ihe United Slates in 
1831, INIr. Calhoun used this langua";e : 

"If, (said he) this was a cpieslion of Bank or no Bank — if it 
involved the existence of the P.ankiiig system, it would indeed be 
a great question — one of the first magnitude, and with my present 
inipression long entertained and daily increasing, I would hesi- 
tate — long hesitate, before I would be found luuler the banner of 
the system. I have great doubts, if doubts they inav be called, 
as to the soundness and tenilency of the whole system in all ils 
modifications. 1 have great fears that it will be fi)U)ui hostile to 
libeity, and the advance of civili/ati(Hi ; fatally hostile to liberty 
in our country, where the system exists in its worst and most dan- 
perous form. Of all institutions afTiH-ting the great question of the 
di.slril)ution of wealth — a (pieslion least explored and the most 
important of any in the whole range of pulilical economy — the 



21 

bankinsj institution has, if not the greatest, one of the greatest, and 
I tear most pernicious influence on tlie mode of distribution." * * 
"So long as the (|uestion is one between a J}ank of the United 
States incorporated by Congress, and that system of IJanks which 
has been created by the will of the Hxeculive, it is an insult to the 
understanding to discouise on the pernicious tendency and uncon- 
stitutionality of the Bank of tlie United States. To bring u]) that 
question fairly and legitimately, you must go one step farther. You 
must d'uwrce the Governinent and the Banking system. You must 
refuse all connection with Banks. You n\ust neither receive nor 
pay away bank notes: you must go back to the old system of the 
strongbox and of gold and silver. If you have a rigiit to receive 
notes at all — to treat them as money by receiving them in your 
dues or paying them away to creditors, you have a right to create 
a Bank." '■'■ J repeat, you must divorce the Gocernmcnt enlirelij 
from Ike Bankitig system, or if not, you are bound to iticorj.orale a 
Bank as the only safe and efficient means of giving stability and 
uniformity to the currency. And shmilil the Deposit es not be restor- 
ed, and the present illegal and unconstitutional connection between 
the Executive and the leagde of Banlcs continue, — / shall feel it 
my duty, if no one else moves, to introduce a measure prohibiting 
the Gofer nvient from receiving or touching banlc notes in any shtpc 
Jchatever, as the only means left of giving safety and stability to 
the currency, and saving the country from corruption and ruin." 

This was the year 1834 — thri:e years before the policy plainly 
expressed by Mv Calhoun was, in general terms, recommended to 
Congress by the Message of Mr. Van Buren — and in some particu- 
lars digested by the friends of that gentleman in Congress. And 
in no .speech or message of Mr. Van Buren previous to thnt time, 
can there be found a suggestion, which, by any process of political 
chemistry could be so analyzed as to present tlie distinct proposi- 
tion thus announced by Mr. Calhoun in 1834. Nor was it here 
that the connection between Mr. Calhoun and this measure ended. 
When the general recommendation of the Federal E.Keculive had 
to be moulded into (he form of legislative enactment, without his 
jealous scrutiny what would it have been worth .' What is the 
Sub-'I'rensury system, without the S|)ecie clause.^ What gives it 
life but this.^ Wiiat else has Bocommended it to the serious and 
reflecting people of our land ? And to whom are we indebted for 
this provision .•' 

It is no small compliment that is paid to Mr. Calhoun, when the 
friends of Mr. Van Buren are forced to recommend him to the 
people, by those measures which are identified with the name of 
Mr. Calhoun, and which of themselves make up the chain by 
which posterity is already connected with him. Too often it hap- 
pens that the pilot whose skill and courage have brought the ship 



aafely to port, is the least hcecJed of all who were on board. And 
more than once, in fable and history, has the achievement been 
with one — the j^lory wilh another. We ask no concession from 
Mr. Van Buren, and would not rob him of the honor of a single 
act in liis political history- But we ask the same for Mr. Calhoun. 
He has won the prize, let him wear it. If in the comparison which 
truth will draw bet-veen Mr. Calhoun and Mr. Van Buren in this 
matter, the latter may not appear in so strong a light, let it be re- 
membered, that we have not said a word in derogation of Mr. Van 
Buren, until his friends were pleased to exhibit him in attire which 
did not become him, and to which he had no right- We have no 
motive but to do justice — no object but the truth. 

From the Glob«. 

THE ATUZT FRESIDENCV. 

MR. CALHOUN— Ills PRINCIPLES. 
NO. L 

It seems to have become a settled conviction, at least among 
the Denmcrats themselves, that a zealous, harmonious, and con- 
certed action, on their part, would secure to the country a Demo- 
cratic administration of the Government, during ihe next Presiden- 
tial terin. To all, then, who believe — as from our inmost soul we 
do — that the Democratic cause is the cause of liberty, of patriot- 
ism, and humanity, the proper selection of their candidate by the 
Detiiociatic party, becomes a consideration of deep and absorbing 
interest. 

Though ourself but a private in the ranks of Democracy, we 
have enlisted for the war; and feel that we aie, and of right ought 
to be, entitled to a voice in the choice of our chief. 

We propose, then, to present to our brothers of the " rank and- 
fde" (for them, more particularly we write) some of the reasons 
which have contributed to bring our own mind to a conclusion on 
this important subject. So thoroughly have these reasons con- 
vinced us, that we cannot but think they may have their elfect oa 
others. 

.Our choice is the late dislinguishpd Senator from South Caro- 
lina, JOHN C. CALHOUN. Prominently as his name has alrea- 
dy been prosonted to t!ic iinojile of the United States, and identi- 
fied as is his history with that of his country, for the last thirty 
years, wc should consider this a work (as perhaps, our readers 
will, at atiy rate, do) of supererogation, but for the fact that most 
of the liiciuls of Mr. Calhoun have thus far, we think, advocated 
liis cause with an injuilicious and somewhat intolerant zeal, more 
Cjilculatcd lo provoke opposition than to conciliate. Such a course 



23 

is, perhaps, inseparable from the position of an aclive partisan; 
and lias been, we fear, by no means confined to the advocates of 
Mr. Calhoun. The anxious interest which we feel for their suc- 
cess renders us, however, more alive to any false move on their 
part. 

Withdrawn, as is the writer of this article, from all active parti- 
cipation in politics — neither holding oilicc, nor seeking it — not 
editing a paper, and only occasionally, indeed; reading one — llio 
views presented have at least the merit of being dispassionately 
formed, jind honestly given. 

The considerations which should control I ho selection of the 
rominaiing convention, it will not be disputed, are mainly these 
two, viz : 

1st. The fitness of the nominee. 

2d. His availability. 

T'o constitute ''fitness,'' we want a man sound in t!ic Democratic 
faith, and one \Vhose talents and character are such as to afford a 
guaranty, that, if elected, he will, in the administration of the high 
oillce to which we propose to elevate him, add new lustre to his 
faith by his works. The creed of the party is, perhaps, most con- 
cisely expressed in iMr. Calhoun's pithy enumeration, viz: "Free 
trade; low duties; no debts ; separation from banks; economy, 
retrenchment; and a strict adherence to the Constitution." 

Whoever departs from this standard, ju&t in so fur as he depart?, 
is not pure in the faith. 

Mr. Calhoun's present profession, subjected to this test, is, then, 
indisputable orthodox. He is objected to, however, on the ground 
of change and inconsistency. 

Admit that, during the first ten of tlie thirty years of Mr. Cal- 
houn's political life; he said and did many things not recfmcilable 
with his present well-known views and opinions, and what does it 
prove, but that omniscience belongs to God alone? In Him only 
do we find no change, or shadow of turning. The views, judg- 
ments, and opinions of the most gifted of created beings, must, in 
the nature of things, be more or less modified by the circumstances 
which surround them. It is surprising that Mr. Calhoun, entering, 
as he did, into the counsels of his country when she was on the 
eve of a war with the most powerful nation of the earth — menaced 
from without, iind torn by faction within — himself young, ardent, 
enthusiastic — should, as the zealous and leading advocate of that 
war durng its ccntinuance, and the temporary exhaustion which 
followed it, have looked with a more favorable eye upon an ex- 
tension of the powers of the Governmcnf, than be has done since 
his wisdom has been matured by increase of years, varied expe- 
rience, and a further observation of the undisturbed working of 
our complicated system during a long period of peace? 



24 

His public life has been well divided into two epochs — the first, 
when, in his youthful piiciie, he gallantly led the van in defending 
liis country (rom f in ign agnression ; th<' stcun I, when, in the ma- 
turity of his manhood, he threw hiiu.sc If in ihe'breach, to protect 
her lioin domestic usuipalion. It will be remembered, too, that 
during the former perioiJ it was the Fe(ier;ilist> — the war party in 
peace, and the peace party in war — wlio were the stiict construc- 
tioni'-ts, us ng their ev( ry tffort to weaken our Government; and 
that llie U< publicans, in vindicating their country's honor, were 
thrown into necensiiry <i|iposition. Mr. Calliouii his been, in both 
epochs, engaged in ti.e defence of the same citadel from the same 
enemy, but f om very dillerent points of attack. 

He wo Id have been more or less than man, who, under such 
contraiiety of circumstances, could huve preserved an entire and 
tiiorough consistency. Instead of demanding a miracle, we should 
ralh(r leel astonishment ih;it, in thirty-two \c;u'S of active politi- 
cal life, during ^sliich Mr. Calhoun has stood priimineutly furth on 
every leading measure, there should be so liiile which, even with 
liis present experience, he need look back to \\ith regret. After 
all has been said, the only practical purpose on account of which 
we need inquire into a statesman's past views, is to enable us the 
better to determine upon tiie honesty and permanence of his pre- 
sent. 

Now, of that sort of consistency which inspires confidence in 
the honesty of his intentions, what pui>lic man has ever exhibited 
more than .lohnC. Calhoun / And we venture the assertion, that 
no reader capable of understanding him can examine the volume 
of Mr. Calhoun's speeches latelj" published, which contains his 
views upon every leading measure for the last eigliteen years, 
without peiceiving a <:radual development of prnciples in beauti- 
ful keepmg with each other, and forming a sy^t(,•matic and sym- 
metrical whole, more perfect, perhaps, than is exhibited in the 
works of any living writer. The earlier speeches are inconsistent 
with the later, only as the first book of Euclid ia with those which 
succeed, viz: because truth is not followed out quite so far. 

But when have the alleged changes in John C Caihoun taken 
place? At times when he might expect tiiat "thrift would follow 
fawnirgr" 

Was it because the tariff State of Pennsylvania had just before 
nominated him to the Presidency, that his friends in South Caroli- 
na took such strong ground against a tariff of protection in 1823 
and If^iJl ? Did free trade principles continue so much m the as- 
cendamt in the United States from that period to 18:2S, as to sub- 
ject him to the suspicion of pretending a zeal he did not feel.' Or 
was his position at this lime so hund)le as to make it his interest to 
«cck raliier Jt sectional than a national popularity ? Was his nuU 



25 

lification remedy so much of a popular favorite, t'lat we are bound 
to infer that lis State Rights views were but hollow professions? 
Mr. JetFerson, it is true, liad sanctioned the doctrne, in lano-uuo-e 
as explicit as any used l)y Mr. Calhoun — declaring, expressly, 
"that in all cases o( an abuse of delegated powers, the mt-mbers 
of the General Government being chosen by the people, a chano-e 
by the peo['le would be the constitutional remedy ; but, wheie 
powers are assumed which have not been delcgaied, a nullification 
of the act is the rightful remedy; that every Staie has a natural 
right, m cases not in the compact, to null fy, of lh< ir own autho- 
rity, all a-^sumptions of powers within their limits." 

Mr. Jefferson had said, further, m his letter to Mr. Carlwrio-ht 
of England : " With respect to our State and Federal Govern- 
ments, I do not think their relations an; correcily uiider.stcx.d by 
fore gners. They suppose the former are subordinate to the latter. 
This is not the ca-e. They are co-ordinate departments of one 
Simple ;ind integral whole. But you may ask, if the two depart- 
ments should claim each the same subject of power, where is the 
umpire to decide between them.? In cases of little urgency or 
impDrtance, tlie prudence of both parties will keep them a oof 
from the questionable ground, but, if it can neither be avoided nor 
compromised, a convention of the States must be called, to as- 
cribe the doubtful power to that department which they may think 
best." 

But though Mr. Jefferson had gone, to the full, as far in this doc- 
trine as Mr. Calhoun ever did, and yel was hailed as the great 
apostle of liberty, and peculiarly the light of Democracy, still it 
is well known that, at the time IMr, Calhoun took the ground in 
its support, nullification was considered but another name for trea- 
son, and a nuUifier shunned bke a leper. Was it any time-serving 
motive which induced him, with but a fragment of the South to 
sustain him, to brave in this cause, the administration of General 
Jackson, in the plentilude of its power — united, as it was on this 
issue, with the whole opposition parly of the Eastern, Western, 
and Middle States.? Did he differ with Gen Jackson's adminis- 
tration during a period of weakness, when its speedy overthrow 
might have promised a reward for his efforts.? It is well known 
that never wa^ administration so strung before in the history of our 
Government. Or did he re-unite himself to his old friends of the 
democracy in an hour of victory and triumph? It was in their 
extremest peril, when the darkness of all without afforded no ray 
to cheer them on their way, and there was nothing to sustain them 
but an abiding confidence in the mightiness of truth. 

Talk of treachery and Calhoun together! Whom did he ever 
betray .? Did he, during the war betray his country .? Do we find 
him burning blue lights to guide her enemies' vessels into her har- 
3 



26 

bors? or declaring it sinful to rejoice in lier victories, while he 
sang "hosannas" to tlie triumphs of her foe ? 

As to his temporary difference with the Jackson parly, it must 
be remembered ihal he joined their ranks as a free-trade man. 
And when General Jackson went into office, it was Avell known 
that South 'C'arohna looked to Stale interposition as t!ie ultimate 
remedy, unless the protective policy was abandoned. He but ful- 
lowed out what he was already pledged to. He never broke faith 
with any one. And as to his separation from the Whigs. — Rlr. 
Calhoun never did belong to their party, lie was among them, 
but not one of ihein. He repeatedly declared, from his place in 
the Senate, that his was not a systematic opposition ; and he open- 
ly repudiated the name of Whii:, when Mr. Cay applied it in a 
Avav which was intended to include him. He never joined in 
their political meetings or party consultations. How, then, charge 
him with desertion ! 

Mr. Calhoun has, it is true, on many occasions, exercised the 
independence of difl'ering witii his party upon certain questions. 
But this fact will be observed in almost every instance: where he 
has done so, tiine has afterwards brought the party fo sanction his 
course, and condemn their own. He differed with his party upon 
the effects of (he embargo and restrictive system, as a substitute 
lor war. The system was shortly after abandoned ; war was de- 
clared ; and liis views are now disputed by nobod}'. He differed 
with his party upon JNlr Dallas's. project of a non-.';pecie-paying 
bank, with a capital of $.30,00l),()0tl ; and, by his vigorous and 
preserving opposition, he defeated the measure. He had, in a lew 
short months, the satisfaction of receiving the thanks of many who, 
at the time, were indignant at his opposition. He differed from 
his party in opposing the power given to President Madison, of 
transferring appropriations from one branch of service to another 
in the War and Is^avy Departments ; and what Democrat now 
doubts that he was right. ^ He took decide<! ground against a ta- 
riff of protection, while as yet it was not considered a necessary 
part of the DciTiocratic faith. The party has since sanctioned this 
course. Whether the party will, at any future period, sanction 
liis difference of opinion on the subject of State interposiiion, 
time only can determine. The great l)ody of the Democratic 
party then agreed with Jackson, Livingston, and other di>tinguisli- 
ed leaders, in considering it as a dangerous heresy, which might 
lead to most di.sastrous ])olitical consetpiences. The doctrine is 
still condemned by the majority of the jiarty ; but since it has 
ceased to be a practical question, an<l all excitement has been al- 
layed, it is admitted that it was, in the abstract, sanctioned by .Mr. 
Jefferson, and other Democrats of old ; and as a matter about which 
Uieic may very well exist an l»oaest difference of opinion. lie 



27 

tlinered wllh Uic Democratic party upon the propriety of remov- 
ing the deposiles from the United States Bank to a set of State 
and joint-stork banks, contending that the only proper alternative 
lo the former was a divorce between Government and all banks; 
a return to the "strong box.'; And he sanctioned, when the De- 
mocratic party opposed them, the Sub-treasury resolutions intro- 
duced into the House of Kepresentatives by Mr. Gordon, of Vir- 
ginia. Tiie party are now, on these .points, unanimously with 
Mr. Calhoun. He differed again from the party on a memorable 
occasion. At the extra session of 1837, the Committee of Finance 
reported a bill for the establishment of what was called the "sub- 
treasury," but without providing for the collection of the revenues 
in gold and silver. Mr. Culhoun rose ; and, incurring on the one 
hand the most rancorous hostility of the Whigs, by advocating the 
general principles of tl)o bill, he on the other hand, along and un- 
aided, denounced the b.U itself, in the strongest terms, as a perfect 
abortion, deprived of a!l vitality, by the omission of what was 
termed, at the lime, the " specie clause''' — declaring that if that 
was what was meant by a sub-treasury, he washed hi.s hands of aU 
concern with it. The party has since, to the fullest extent, rati- 
fied his judgment. But whether his difierenccs with the party 
have been wis •, or unwise, we re])eat tiiat no right judging man 
can doubt that they were honest. What stronger proof of honesty 
than that leading a politician's life, and ambitious, (as we admit 
him to be,) he should never once have descended to the petty arts 
of the demagogue? Washintrton himself was not more tree from 
these than this illustrious statesman. Nowhere do you find, in all 
his writings, in his speeches, or in his conduct, an appeal to popu- 
lar prejudice and passion. He seems ever to hold the language 
happily applied to another great Carolinian — " I stand by, and let 
Reason speak for me." 

We have all heard the pretty anecdote of Mr. Clay and the 
Kentucky liunter, his constituent, on the subject of his vote on 
the compensation bill — of his calling on the old leather-stocking 
not to break his well-tried rifle because it had once snapped, but 
to "pick the flint, and try it again." Mr. Calhoun voted for the 
same bill ; his friends at home fell oflT; he met with violent oppo- 
sition ; and he, too, was called on to apologize, and beg that his 
constituents would " pick the flint, and try him again." He re- 
fused to apologize fur what he considered as right, and vindicated 
his vote by argument before the people; and he, as well as Mr. 
Clay, was re-elected. 

Who can seriously fear that John C. Calhoun will, if elected, 
fail to carry out the principles he professes? What his principles 
are, we are at no loss to discern. The volume put forth by the 
Haipers contains them, written as with a sunbeam. We may ap- 



28 

ply to all his speeches the language which William Pinckncy, of 
^laiyland, applied to one of them — "The strong power of genius, 
from a higher region than that of argument, han thrown on the 
subjects of which he treats all the light with which it is the pre- 
rogative of o-enius to invest and illustrate every thing." 

We would like to know, by the way, for what reason it is that 
tlie Whig press is so indignantly clamorous against the "suppres- 
sion" (as they term it) of a portion of Mr. Calhoun's speeches. 

Do the Whigs believe that Mr. Calhoun, if elected to the Pre- 
sidency, would act upon the principles contained in the " unpub- 
lished speeches," rather than tho.se avowed in the published vo- 
lume ? And if so, and those speeches really contain good Whig 
doctrine, as they say, why should they be distressed ? Are ihcy 
charitably interposing to save the Democratic party from their fate 
in the elevation of Mr. Tyler.' The Democrats are infinitely 
grateful, but we take it upon oui-selves to assure these cliaritalile 
tVhigs that, whoever may be nominee of the party, he will stand 
pledged, explicitly and unequivocally, to such principles as ihey 
expect him to act on if elected. Whatever of Whig doctrine, 
however, the W^higs can find in Mr. Calhoun's speeches, they do 
■well to publish, as a sort of antidote to Mr. Clay's speech against 
a United States Bank. 

Very many of the alleged inconsistencies of Mr. Calhojjn (in 
fact all, charged on him since the beginning of the second epoch 
of his political life — viz : his election to the Vice Presidency in 
18"21) are such only in appearance, and aro susceptible of easy 
explanation. We will not, however, encumber this article with 
anything further on this point. A careful perusal of the volume 
of Ills speeches, just issued by the Harper.-', will afford his best 
vindication. 



INIR. CALHOUN— HIS CAPABILITT. 
NO. n. 

Having concluded, in our first number, what we had to say in 
regard to Mr. Calhoun's principles and charaitter, we pro])ose, in 
the present, to add, in further connection with the ground of fit- 
ness for the nomination ;is the Democratic candidate for the Presi- 
dency, a f(;w remarks as to his capnbilities. If his principles are 
unexceptionable to the party, his honesty above suspicion, and 
h\x steadiness of purpose worthy of all reliance, the only remain- 
ing consideration is his capacity for giving to thosc principles a 
practic.il aj)|>lication. 

No statesman in America (except, perhaps, Mr. Webster) has 
his position, as to pure intellect, so universally conceded, as Mr. 
Calhoun. He is not merely a man of talents and ability, but he 



29 

»-, emphatically a man of genius — one who originates, and who 
must, more or less, leave his impress on the age in which he lives. 
He is not to be considered merely, or even mainly, in so far as he 
immediately influences others. Each speech of his inspires, sug- 
gests, or gives material for hundreds of other speeches; some of 
which, for general elFect, may be superior to the original. Trace 
to their source all the new ideas and new arguments wluch have 
been advanced for the last si.xtecn years, elucidating the princi- 
ples of free trade, the currency, or the peculiar relations of our 
State and Federal Governments, and, still more, the grand funda- 
mental principles of all governments, — and the portion assignable 
either directly or indirectly to Mr. Calhoun, would be a matter of 
curiosity and astonis iment. How often do we find in liis speeches 
Jin important truth contained in some single pithy sentence, pass- 
ing uiuioticed at the time, which, by tiie progiess of events, in 
years long after, is brought prominently forth, and made the turn- 
ing point of controversy ! It is only a succeeding generatloa 
which can do full justice to his eflbits. 

VVe are very far from contending that genius is a necessary re- 
quisite in fulfilling well tjie duties of the chief executive office of 
the United States. Genius, indeed, is so frequently merely specu- 
lative, that, unless it has been tested, and, by actual experiment, 
found to be connected with practical ability, we could scarce ven- 
ture to urge it as even a recommendation. That it may, however, 
be so connected, no one who reads history can doubt. Indeed, to 
the highest practical ability, genius, or the creative faculty, is es- 
sential. Hannibal, Julius Ccesar, the Czar Pet<jr, Frederick the 
Great, and Napoleon, were as unquestionably po.ssessed of genius 
as Homer, Plato, or Aristotle, Newton, Bacon, or Milton. 

Mr. Calhoun has been called "visionary," "metaphysical," and 
"abstract;" by which it is meant that he is deficient in good sense, 
sound judgment, and executive ability. Wherein, we would ask, 
has this deficiency shown itself? When, at the age of fourteen, 
his education — then, indeed, but just begun — was interrupted, he 
is found sedulously and cheerfully devoting himself to the business 
of his father's farm, relieving his labors, with the appropriate rural 
recreations of hunting and fi.shing. .\fter four years thus con- 
tentedly passed, it was urged upon him to choose one of the learned 
professions; to which he consented, only on condition that his lit- 
tle property could be so managed as to allow him to pursue a pre- 
paratory course of seven years study. The arrangement was 
made; and bis resolution rigidly adhered to. He succeeded well 
in college, as he had before done on his farm. He succeeded well 
in the practice of law, as long as he continued in that profession. 
How well he succeeded in Congress, it is unnecessary to speak; 
and this not only as a debater, but upon the important committees 
3* 



30 

on which he served. He has, throughout a political career of now 
tliirty-lwo years, maintaincil, without a moment's (iiminulion, tlie 
contidence of his native Sttite. During a long life he has been 
invaiiably esteemed and beloved, in proportion as he has been 
Jcnown. And absorbed, as it would appear he must have been, in 
public duties, his very moderate private property has been pre- 
served iindimini-hf d and unembarrassed. Call 3'ou this man "vi- 
sionary'' and impracticable? 

But, fortunately, we are not left to conjecture, inference, oran^.- 
]ogy, in judging of the administrative talent of Mr. Calhoun as a 
statesman. His adminislraiion of the War Department afToided 
am|)le demonstration. It is true that he introduced there changes., 
which the routine-m' n of that day pronounced visionarv, wild, 
and iinpraclicabie. His system of bureaus was thus denounced, 
and it was with difficulty that he overcame the violence of the op- 
position. Thi>- wild and visionary measure, however, has stooxl the 
lest of twentj-'five years experience, and remains, through ad the 
visiludes of ^wrly, to this day unchanged, and an admitted im- 
provement. When he took charge of the department, it was lil- 
orall}' without any organization, and every tiling appertaining to it 
in apparently inextricable confusion. In a very fen' months a com- 
plete organization was established, regulated by an entire new 
code of lules, and the whole working in perfect harmon}'. And 
for the seven years of his administration ol it, it continued as com- 
pletely arranged and ctlicient a military establishment as any of 
its size in the world. 

He found the unsettled accounts of the Department ronniiig 
back (many of them) almost to the origin of the Government, 
nmountins; lo upwards of $ 10,(i()0,000. 'Jhese he reduced, to less 
than $:3,000,(H)(). Of$l,57l.%l drawn in lS-2-2 by the Depart- 
ment, which passed through '291 disbursing olRrers, not one cent 
was lost to the Government — not one def .Ication occurred. He 
found the army proper costing $151 jier man, and he left the cost 
per man Ijf'i^T. The gross annual saving, during his administration 
of the dejiartment, out of an expenditure of $4,(i00, 000, was about' 
$1,;'00,000. And yet, with the army, and all connected with the 
de|)aitment, I\Ir. Calhoun maintained an unexampled popularity 
throughout all his reforms. 

And this is the man whom it is attempted to represent as a mere 
dealer in abstractions — a skillul skirmisher in scholastic subtleties! 
Very dillcrenl was (General Bernards estimate of Mr. Calhoun. — 
This favorite aid-de-camp of the French Emperor, who, as chief 
of the United States Engineer Departmtint. hail the means of know- 
ing Mr. Calhoun intimately, often declared tl'.ai- liih extraordinary 
administrative talent constantly reminded him uf his belovcJ chief 
— the great Napoleon. 



31 

The Iruth is, that to pronounce Mr. Calhoun deficient in practi- 
cal ability, is to oppose mere giatnitous assertion to an iMibroken 
series of facts; spread throughout a long life ; whicli, at each step 
we lake, stamjis llie assumption with impudence and falsehood. 

We cannot thiidc that we are doing injustice to the other very 
able and distinguished Dernocrats whose names have been present- 
ed, with Mr. Calhoun's in connexion with tiie Presidency, vvhea 
we declare that, in point of peculiar titness for the oflicc, Mr. Cal- 
lioun has something (he advantage of any otiier individual. Great 
as are the acknowledged abilities of the other genliemen named, 
something more in the way of retrenchment, reform, and improved 
organization of the various departments of Governnu;nt, might bo 
expected from P\Ir. Calhoun than from any one else. In our view, 
he is pre-eminently the man for the crisis. . 



JOHN C. CALHOUN AND GEO. McDUFFIE. 
We extract the following from a Life of Mr. Calhoun recently 
published at the New World office (New York) under t!ie super- 
intendence of the Calhoun General Committee of New York city. 

" Mr. Calhoun has never been poor or ricii — he ha-^ always been 
independent in his resources ; and while many public men have, 
by devotion to pul)lic affaii'-s, let their private matters fall into em- 
barrassment, Mr. Calhoun has always acted upon those maxims in 
private life that ho has advocated in his oflicial siations ; that is, 
iVeedom from debt, strict accountability, and reduction of ixpen- 
ses within the legitimate sources of revenue. He was never one 
of those kind of men to preach one doctrine ;ind prac'ice another. 
What he professes in public life, he practices in his daily private 
walks. He always desires his acts, public and private, to spe.ik f 'i' 
themselves; and shuns public exhibitions of himself, and public 
declamation for electioneering purposes — statin ir he considers the 
OFFICE of President of tlie Uiiiled Stales ot \oo high and dignified 
a character to be sought at the hands of the people by way of 
stump speeches and electioneering tours; and that, as it is the 
liighest office in the gift of the people, they .should be left free to 
make their own unbiassed choice of a Chief Magistrate. 

Although Mr. Calhoun is not poor or rich, he his alwa^'s been 
liberal in dispensing aid to others in dis'rcss and need. But his 
charities have been so privately bestowed that they never came to 
light, unless divulged by those who have participated in his bounty. 
He has always sliown a deep interest in the education and advance- 
ment of young men. It is well known that the celebrated George 
McDufjle was born of obscure and poor parents, inhabiting a log 
hut in the pine woods of Georgia. When quite a lad, he strayed to 



32 

Augusta, where he entered a retail store as a clerk. Here he was 
seen hy a biotherof John C. Calhoun, who liad gone to Augusta 
Willi his wagon from Abbeville. On conversing with the lad, he 
formed so favorable an opinion of his understanding that he invit- 
ed him to go home with him, and promised to use his inlkience in 
gelling him placed in a more advantageous siluaton. On their re- 
turn to Carolina, Patrick Calhoun, the brother, introduced vouno' 
McDulTie to John C, who also formed so high an estimate of the 
young man's abilities, that he at once proposed to place him at the 
Academy of his brother-in-law, where he accordingl}' went at liis 
expense. ^VlliIe here, he made the most rapid progress, and soon 
qualilied himself to enter the South Carolina College at Columbia. 
Here he also prosecuted his studies wilh dist nguished success, at 
Mr. Calhoun's expense. He alterward studied law, and became, 
as we all know, a distinguished man. On one occasion. Mr. 
McDuflie, wilh Judge Huger, the present U. S. Senator from South 
Carolina, wero both members of the State Legislature. The sub- 
ject of an appropriation to the State College at Columbia came up 
lor discussion. It was opposed by some members from the upper 
counties of ihe Siate, on the ground that it had never done any 
good, and was only open to the sons of the rich, fitc. Judge Huger 
rose in rejily, and stated, " If the College had never educated but 
one man, and llial man was George McDullle, it deserved all the 
money the State has ever bestowed upon it." 

When the judge took his seat. Mv. McDuflie, rose, and said he 
felt deeply sensible of the com|)iimenl which had been paid him: 
and however much he was indebted to that institution for his edu- 
caiion, and however much lie might owe to it for the lillle distinc- 
tion he had gained in public lile, he wished the honor ol his edu- 
cation place where it belonged. Whatever degree of uset'ulne.ss 
Iiis exertions hnd fulfilled, or whatever honor might await him in 
future life, it was all due to .Mr. Calhoun. It was he who had ed- 
ucated him at his own expense, and to him he wished all the honor 
awarded." 



MR. CALHOUN. 

Mr. Calhoun'.s recent speech in defence of himself against the 
attacks of Mr. ('lay is precisely on the plan of the ("amous oration 
I)e Corniui, delivered by the great Athenian, in vindication of liim- 
self from the elaborate and artful attacks ol\>'Eschines. While the 
one says — "Athenians! to you I appeal, my judges and my wit- 
nesses!" — the other says: " In proof of this, 1 appeal to you, Sen- 
ator.'?, mv witnesses and my judges on this occasion ! " /Kschines 
accused Demosthenes of having received a bribe from }*lnlip, and 
the lallcr retorted by saying that the other had accii-sed him of do- 



33 

ing what he himself had notoriously done. Mr. Clay says, that 
Mr. Calhoun had gone over, and he left to lime to disclose his mo- 
tives. Mr. Calhoun retorts: "Leave it to lime to disclose my 
motives for going over ! I, who have changed no opinion, aban- 
doned no principle, and deserted no party— I, who have stood still 
and maintained my ground against every difRculty, to be told that 
it is left to time to disclose my motive! The imputation sinks to 
the earth with the groundless chari;e on which he it rests. 1 stamp 
it down in the dust. 1 pick up the dart which fell harmless at my 
feet. I hurl it back. What the Senator charges on me unjustly, 
he has ncliinlli/ done. He went over on a memorable occasion, and 
did not leave it to time to disclose his motive." In the concfption 
and arrangement of the whole speech, in fact, there is a remarka- 
ble similarity to the speech of the great Athenian. And where 
could any man find a nobler model .^ For withering sarcasm — 
burning invective — lofty declamation — for all that is spirit-stirring 
and glorious in eloquence, there is not on record, in any language, 
as noble and perfect a specimen as this oration for the crown. 

THE PRESIDENTIAL QUESTION. 

" \^ hoin the gods intcnil to destroy ihey first m;ike mad. " 

Every moment but adds to our conviction, of the absolute ne- 
cessity of harmony in the ranks of the Democratic party, while 
every mail brings us proof, that this harmony is in imminent peril 
of being destroyed. It is impossible to read the Globe or liich- 
mond Enquirer without being convinced that they have placed 
themselves on a ground, from whicli they cannot be driven, -to sup- 
port any candidate but one of the r own choosing. Other presses, 
■with different views, are equally out of the pale of pariy organiza- 
tion The recklessness of the Globe in denouncing every Demo- 
crat who may have received office under President Tyler, looks as 
much like insanity as any thing we have lately seen in politics. — 
Such intestine divisions and household conte.-ts as now infest us 
cannot be put down without the strongest reprobation, and decid- 
ed rebuke of the pr*e-s. 

We have long since shown our opinion. We arc decidedly in 
favor of allowing a seal in ihe UaUimore Convention to every '"an 
who is sent by the Democratic party of his State — and to the Con- 
vention, the regulation of its own aftairs, such as the powers of 
the delegates sent from each State, mode of voting. Sec. If a Con- 
vention, thus organized, shall decide the question, who is to be the- 
candidates of the Democratic party, we shall support their nomi- 
nations with great satisfaction. If, on the contrary, the confusion 
now manifest in the public press, invades the Baltimore Conven- 
tion, and we are thrown ofT, to wage a guerilla warfare, every one 
on his own hill we pretend not to foresee the result, or to define 
our own position in that dark hour. — Milkdgevilk (Geo.) Unioix% 

LofC. 



34 

THE RICH RICHER, AND THE POOR POORER. 

As an evidence of the benefits of a Protective Tariff, we are in- 
formed by the Boston papers, that all the factory stocks have ad- 
vanced one hall" in value. This is good for the rich capitalists. 

But, on the other hand, the same papers inform us that the me- 
chanics are strikinsf for vvao:es, and that even the poor seamstresses 
are endeavoring to wring from their employers an additional jfil- 
tance — as at their present wages they are not able by hard labor 
to earn more than ten cents per day. This is bad for the poor 
operative. 

Thus is exemplified, in a limited circle, the working of the Pro- 
tectiv(; system. AVhile it increases the wealth of those already 
allluent, it grinds the faces of the poor to the very earth. If per- 
severed In, it will not be long ere the condition of our laboring 
population will be as-imdatcd to that cf the operatives in the Eng- 
lish factories, and the weahh of our country be concentrated in the 
hands of the spinning-jenny nobilit}'. 



The talented Editor'of the New World (a periodical devoted to 
polite literature) thus hits off the political minnows who nibble at 
Mr. Calhoun's great name! Had the editor been acquainted with 
the clianicter of those who hereabouts have made the charge of in- 
cont^istcncy against JMr. Calhoun, and theirjiuny attacks, he could 
not more aptly have delineated boih. The extract 1 send is taken 
from the New World of the 12th October. 

Mr. CalhouiCs (hnsislcnci/. — -We observe that sevaral 'mousing 
politicians' are denouncing Mr. Calhoun for want of consistency, 
because his opinion on certain political questions have undergone 
some change during the last thirty years. The charge is supreme- 
ly ridiculous, and can have no influence whatever upon intelligent 
minds. To suppose that, during the long public life of the distin- 
guished statesman, his opinions had remained the same, would, in 
fact, be to suj)pose that he made no intellectual advancement. In 
love of country and manly patriotism, in his moral and religious 
character, J\Ir. Calhoun has been perfectly consistent. We dont 
write tlis paragraph as political partisans, for any particular pur- 
pose, but simj)ly to expose the folly of the charge of ' inconsisten- 
cy' so frequently and so foolishly brought against public men.- — 
We commend the following line sentiment of Cowley to the puny 
assailants of Mr. Calhoun : 

" Where honor or whore conscience does not bind, 

No other shiill bIiiicI<1i' me; 

Sluvo to my sell" I will not be. 
Nor shall my luiurc actions bo coiilincd 

'l"o my own j>rcBcnl niiml. " 

[Independent Democrat. 



35 

THE PROTi:CTIVE SYSTEM. 

The doctrine of protection avowed by tlie Syracuse Convention 

meets with no favor at the hands of the Soutliern Democracy. 

At a recent meeting- of the Democratic parly of Greene count}', 
Alabama, the following resolution was unanimously adopted: 

Resolved, That the -theory of protection put forth by the Syra- 
cuse Convention, forms no part of the Republican creed : we re- 
gard oui Government as instituted for the benefit of the whole 
people, and whenever its powers are directed — either directly, or 
under the hypocritical guise of protection " to agriculture, cotii- 
merce and manufactures'''' — to the advancement of sectional inte- 
rest, it depaits from the cardinal principle u[)on which it is found- 
ed, and such departure necessarily implies a nullity of constitu- 
tional power. 



PROTECTION. 

The fundamental doctrine of this system, is that it is better for 
a nation to make all the articles its inhabitants want, than it is to 
make other things and exchange for what they want. Trading is 
the injurious thing, especially with foreign nations. The doctrine 
of free trade is, that it is best for every man to obtain what he 
wants with tlie least possible amount of labor and expense, and 
that each man is the proper judge in his own case. Protection 
says in substance, if you want a coat you ought to make it : free 
trade says, if you can get it easier by making something else and 
exchanging it for a coat, do so, if you please. Here is really the 
whole matter in controversy, though the protectionists never like 
these short statements. — Journnl of Commerce. 



THE COCK AND THE COON. 
A Western paper gives the following good one, upon these em-- 
blems of parties in those diggins : 

These have now by common consent become the ensign or coat 
of arms of the two leading parties of the day. 

The Democratic papers announce almost every victory under 
the figure of the crowning rooster. We had doubtless some share 
ourselves, unintentionally, however, of introducing this bird as the 
emblem of Democracy when we wrote to Chapman to crow. In- 
deed, the cock is the appropriate emblem of Democracy. Brave, 
vigilant, and sprightly-, he is always on the watch. So soon as the 
sun, like a great loco match, lightens up the world and scatters the 
darkness of night, the cock salutes him with his well known cry 
of loco fo CO ! He is faithful and constant in his attachments, 
and loathes traitors, or those who forsake their friends. When St. 



S6 

Peler, like a Whig, failed to redeem llie promise he had made, the 
cock reprimanded him three times. And throughout the Union the 
Democratic cock is reprimanding tiie Whigs for failing to redeem 
Ihcir promise of good times — " two dollars a day and roast beef." 
Tiie coon, or Whig ensign, is a nocturnal animal. He prowls 
about in the dark, and drfads the light. 'Ihe blaze vC a loco foco 
match starts liim off in alarm. Hh sneaks from henroost to hen- 
roost, like a \Vhig from bank to bank on borrowed capital..- At 
cock crowing he puts off like an evil spirit to his murky den.'' 



WHO SHALL DECIDE? 

Mr. Webster, in the speech which he made before the agricul- 
turists of Rochester, was pleased to remark: 

"I do say, gentlemen, that the agricidture of this country is the 
great matter which demands protection. It is n misnomer to talk 
about the protection of manufacture ; that is not the thing we want 
or need ; it it the protection of the agriculture of the country !'' 
[Repeated cheers.] 

Not a few weeks before this was staled, Mr. Clay; writing to the 
Editors of the Tennessee Agiicultural Journal, was also pleased to 

remark : 

" Oi\ing to the peculiar position of the United States, agricul- 
ture rcquTres but little protection, and that confined to a iew 
branches of it. It is otherwise with the other two interests. They 
require some protection against the selfish legislation and the rival- 
ry of foreign powers," &c. 

' Either one or the other of these learned Doctors must be wrong, 
and \vc should like to be informed, by some of their admirers, 
which one of the two is to be believed. As a high authority has 
nominated the gentlemen to run re-peciively as the Whig candi- 
dates for the Presidency, and the Vice Presidency, perhaps they 
intend, as in the campaign of 1810, to adapt themselves to all 
classes of opinion. ^eu- \or/; Evenir.g Post. 



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